xii, 310 pages ; 23 cm

Rene Girard, author of groundbreaking books such as Violence and the Sacred and Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World, has long been an intellectual cause celebre in Europe. Although he has studied and taught in the United States since the 1940s, he is now - in his 70's - finding his lifework praised and taught in academic and religious circles throughout the country. The Girard Reader brings that work to a larger audience. It includes major excerpts from

Girard's books and articles which cover all aspects of his theories on violence, religion, and culture. These views cut across theology, biblical studies, anthropology, psychology, and literature. The book concludes with a conversation with Rene Girard and editor James G. Williams that brings new focus to his Christian vision and breathtaking oeuvre

"A Crossroad Herder book."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 295-303) and index

Mimesis and violence -- The surrogate victim -- Triangular desire -- Desire and the unity of novelistic conclusions -- The goodness of mimetic desire -- Sacrifice as sacral violence and substitution -- The scapegoat as historical referent -- Stereotypes of persecution -- Python and his two wives : an exemplary scapegoat myth -- The Bible's distinctiveness and the Gospel -- The nonsacrificial death of Christ -- The divinity of Christ -- Satan -- The question of anti-semitism in the Gospels -- Freud and the Oedipus complex -- Nietzsche versus the crucified

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